Landscape represents the complex
interaction between human societies and the natural environment. Portraying
landscape on the basis of land cover category is a simple and aggregated way
because the land cover structure together with the relief are mainly recognisable as a landscape.

This paper
presents work carried out at the Institute of Geodesy and Cartography on the
basis of general assumptions made by European Commission in the report “From
Land Cover Data to Landscape Diversity”. This is an attempt to adjust the
European methodology for setting up landscape indicators to Polish environment
as well as explore potentialities and limits to use CORINE Land Cover data to
portrayal diversity of Polish landscape. The investigation presented focuses on
the following questions:

What type of reference units could be the most appropriate for
retrieving landscape metrics?

How can landscape metrics portray the spatial structure of
landscape?

Are the metrics sensible enough to reveal changes in landscape
affected by land cover changes?

As
a single indicator which describes all aspects of landscape structure does not
exist five metrics were chosen and investigated in depth: Number of Patches,
Patch Density, Edge Density, Shannon Diversity Index and Interspersion and
Juxtaposition Index. Analysis conducted shows that NP, PD and ED are
correlated, so that is why only one matrix is usually enough. The contrast
between regions is more pronounced by Shannon Diversity Index and Edge Density.
Whereas Interspersion and Juxtaposition Index stresses diversification of the
landscape. The matrices could also portray changes in the landscape because
appearance as well as disappearance of land cover polygons (patches) results in
different values of indices

The
CORINE Land Cover (CLC) databases were the source for computing landscape
metrics. These inventories are based on satellite images as the primary data
source. CLC is a coherent and standardised geodataset with 25 ha minimum
mapping unit. However we should remember that the mapping unit and the
methodology of attributing to each polygon the dominant type of land cover
significantly influence the value of indices.

To conclude
landscape metrics computed on the basis of CORINE Land Cover data allow to
complement the stock of knowledge about landscape and are useful tool for
preserving and sustaining landscape diversity.